The idea for this lesson comes from a Switchfoot Song "Dare You to Move"
INTRODUCTION
With the Pacific fleet sunk or badly damaged in Pearl Harbor it was impossible to keep the supply lines going for a war in the Philippians. Just three months after the attack on Pearl Harbor MacArthur and a few select officers were ordered by the President to leave the Philippians. Leaving behind the 72,000 troops.
The troops were without supplies. They were malnourished. They were stricken with all sorts of diseases. Ammunition was in very short supply. So, about one month after General MacArthur left, the 72,000 troops had to surrender.
In war, it is hard to determine what is the most heinous of war crimes, but the Bataan Death March must be right there at the top of the list. The POWs were forced on a 60-mile march where 20,000 died on the march.
Many of the surviving POW’s were eventually transferred to Cabanatuan prison camp where hunger, sickness, torture and murder would continue until their rescue in 1945, nearly 3 years later.
At one point, the Cabanatuan prison camp held 8,000 Americans making it the largest POW camp in the Philippians. The number dropped as able-bodied people were shipped to work in slave labor camps. Of course, starvation, torture and sickness killed many more.
In 1944 as American troops started to take back the Philippians, all the able-bodied POW's were taken to Japan leaving about 500 sick still in the camp. The orders from Japan were to not let the prisoners be rescued. Kill them all. In one camp the Japanese did a false air raid siren and when the captives went into the trench for protection gasoline was poured on them and they were burnt to death.
The Captives of Cabanatuan knew their time was coming. But an elite group of Army Rangers and Alamo Scouts were making a daring plan to rescue the POWs before the Japanese could kill them. The Cabanatuan POW camp was thirty miles behind enemy lines on a flat plain with little cover. With careful planning and scouting this group of young soldiers along with Pilipino gorillas headed out behind the lines to rescue these POW’s. On the evening of January 30, 1945, the rescue attempt was carried out. It went off nearly flawlessly. One thing that the Rangers did not expect was the hesitancy of the POWs to leave. After so much abuse many felt that this was a Japanese trap, and they refused to go with the Rangers. It took a lot of convincing to get them to move and some of the prisoners they just had to grab and carry out. A total of 522 people were rescued that day of which 464 were American Soldiers.
It is Memorial Weekend and tomorrow we will remember those that have gone on before us. We will visit cemeteries and put flowers on the graves of those we love and remember. I chose a war story for us to remember those who have sacrificed so much for our freedoms. But this story isn’t really about memorials. I want us to use this amazing story so that we can learn some very important lessons about God. When we look at scripture, I think we will see several object lessons we can take from this historical event and as we spend time this weekend thinking about all the sacrifices that have been made for our freedoms hopefully this lesson will be there as a reminder of the greatest sacrifice that has been ever made.
THERE ARE TWO PATHS
The first thing I want us to see is that Scripture is full of references of our lives being on one of two paths. Either on the path of righteousness or the path of destruction
Matthew 7:13-14 comes to mind with the narrow gate and way vs the wide Gate and broad way. Let's Read:
The book of Proverbs is full of references to these paths and in chapter Proverbs 4:10-19, says:
Two amazingly different paths that will define our lives. One path leads to destruction and captivity. The other path leads to hope and freedom.
WE HAVE ALL BEEN CAPTIVES
One thing I need to remind all of us today is that we have all been on the wide path. We have all been held in captivity. In fact, John gives us a pretty strong warning in 1 John 1:8-10:
A stern warning to us who are followers of Christ. We need to remember that we were dead. We were captive. We were enemies of God. We are all sinners. We are here today not because we have not sinned. Oh, no! We are here because, as Romans 5:8-10 tells us:
We most certainly have been held captive. Praise be to God who demonstrates His own love toward us. We have nothing to brag or boast about. We did not free ourselves from the bondage of sin. It was Christ’s work through His death on the cross.
AN INTERESTING TRUTH ABOUT THE PATHS
This leads me now to an interesting truth about the two paths. Throughout scripture we see this concept of God perusing us. He loves us so much we cannot get away from his love. Hebrews 13:5b tells us, for He Himself has said, “I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you,”
Psalms 139:7-10 tells us.
If this is true, why in Matthew 7:14 do we have this statement?
Few will find it? How can this be? It is due to the truth about these two paths. Follow along with me here. (Walk in a direction to make this point) I am walking on the broad path. Let’s say I have been walking on this path for many, many years and have covered thousands of miles down this broad path of destruction. I finally hit my ropes end. I’ve fallen once again face down in the dirt and I am broken, hurting, and not wanting to get up again.
My world has fallen apart.
I have been a captive for far too long and now I am at the breaking point. There is no hope and when my sin is exposed, I am going to be ashamed and all alone again. In this state I am told of the Good News of Jesus and this time it makes sense to me, and I repent. (Turn around 180 degrees and start walking the other direction.) Did you notice that? (turn back the other direction). I’m walking on the broad path, and I repent and give my life to Christ and I die in that watery grave and (spin around again 180 degrees). BOOM I am now on the narrow path!
I don’t have to back track all those thousands of miles of the broad path I was on searching for that little narrow gate. God’s Love. God’s Mercy. God’s Grace has been pursuing me the whole time I was being held captive on the broad path! God has always been right behind me.
Isn’t that an amazing truth? WOW! This is one of those thoughts that send goose bumps all over my body! People do not find the narrow path because they never turn around. It certainly isn’t because God has left them. In fact, God pursues them even while they are his enemies. Always patiently waiting for them to turn around.
The band Switchfoot has a song that I believe hits on this important concept in the song Dare You to Move. (You can easily look up the lyric's online. I chose to read the whole song.)
Read Lyrics
CONCLUSION
We have been held captive for far too long. Our captors are brutal. They leave those in their prison broken and without hope. Just like the brave Rangers, Scouts, and Pilipino Gorillas who traveled behind the enemy lines to rescue the captives of Cabanatuan prison camp, so does our God. God pursues us no matter how far we are behind enemy lines. The gates are torn down and God is calling all to escape to freedom. The question remains. Are you going to turn around? Are you going to turn around? Forgiveness is right where you fell. Salvation is here. I dare you to move. I dare you to turn around and repent. Salvation is here.
I know some may be listening to this and going, this can’t be true. God can’t love me this way. You find yourself running around the prison camp and actually fighting with those who came to save you. You cannot understand how God would ever be able to love you like that because of all of what you have done. I agree with you. I struggle understanding this type of sacrificial love that God demonstrated by sending His one and only Son to die for us. It is unfathomable. But yet…it is TRUE! Turn around. Turn around. The gates are open. Freedom and redemption are here. We will close with this passage from Romans 8:31-39:
I dare you to move.
